WPCNR WEATHER TELETYPE...11:45 A.M..E.D.T.

...* THROUGH THIS EVENING

* RAIN...WILL CONTINUE ON AND OFF THROUGH TONIGHT...WITH UP TO AN ADDITIONAL HALF AN INCH OF RAINFALL EXPECTED. THIS WILL BRING RAINFALL TOTALS THROUGH TONIGHT TO 2 TO 5 INCHES...WITHLOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF UP TO 6 INCHES ACROSS THE TRI-STATE.

* RIVER FLOODING IS POSSIBLE DUE TO EXCESSIVE RUNOFF AND MELTING OF SNOWPACK ACROSS NORTHERN NEW JERSEY...AND ROCKLAND AND ORANGE COUNTIES IN NEW YORK. ELSEWHERE...URBAN AND POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING WILL LIKELY MAKE SOME FLOOD PRONE ROADWAYS IMPASSABLE. IN ADDITION...DUE TO THE SATURATED GROUNDS...
BASEMENT FLOODING COULD BE EXPERIENCED.

The Front Page

March 13, 2010 

POWER DISASTER OVERWHELMS WESTCHESTER AS OF 1:30 A.M. EST

20% OF CON ED CUSTOMERS OFFLINE IN COUNTY

67,052 CUSTOMERS OUT DOUBLE THE TOLL OF THE FEBRUARY BLIZZARD.

6,132 WHITE PLAINSIANS WITHOUT POWER AS POWERSTORM WINDS DOWN IN WEE HOURS.

EBERSOLE RINK END OF YEAR ICE SHOW

LOVE ON ICE

WILL GO ON SUNDAY EVENING AT 6:30 P.M. AT THE RINK.

SHOW WAS POSTPONED EARLY SATURDAY EVENING.

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. From The Mayor's Office. March 14, 2010: Communications Director Antoinette Biordi of White Plains, reported today that White Plains Police responded to 1,200 calls for assistance, that 6 trees had crashed into homes, and approximately 50 trees were down across the city.

Ms. Biordi reported that Mayor Adam Bradley toured the hardest hit areas of the city: Soundview, North Street and Smith Avenue, and said, "It's clear, this is one of the worst storms to hit the city since the microburst of four years ago. You have a bad combiantion of saturated ground and wind bursts of 66 miles per hour."

Biordi said police would have a Special Traffic Detail handling rush hour Monday morning. She reports that the Mayor will be meeting with his commissioners at 3 P.M. this afternoon to assess the current situation and plan the city's next move.

Biordi said the Department of Public Works is awaiting Con Edison crews to take care of the live wires down in the city. She said Con Edison may have some outages taken care of by Tuesday, but it may take until the end of the week to restore all power to White Plains.

Con Edison, according to a news release this morning is calling in out of state crews as is customary in these situations, to detail the massive outages affecting 70,000 customers in Westchester County

WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. March 14, 2010: The Mayor's Office has swung into action Sunday evaluating the city situation after the devastating weather event of Saturday and Sunday morning. The Mayor, Adam Bradley, and Council President Tom Roach were in city neighborhoods this morning.

Moments ago Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong told WPCNR that North Street is closed both directions from Ridgeway to the Hutchinson River Parkway. He reports most of Soundview Avenue is closed, and motorists will be forced to detour in the Old Mamaroneck Road and Albamarle Road area of Ridgeway. The Commissioner said about 6,000 to 8,000 are without power "in grids" at the 12 noon hour.

John Callahan, City Chief of Staff, announced the Mayor and his Commissioners will hold a news conference at 3 P.M. to discuss the state of the city.

Commissioner Chong said police would be out massively in the Monday morning rush hour to expedite the commute in the morning.

Con Edison storm center reports the number of customers without power at this time as holding at 69,326. Con Edison figures show 7,125 White Plains customers without power.

Don Clendenen of Con Edison on WCBS Radio said this storm is the worst storm in terms of power loss since Hurricane Gloria in 1985.

WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. Photos ByPaula Piekos. March 14, 2010:

AVONDALE ROAD

DAVIS AVENUE

SOUNDVIEW

Davis at Bryant

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. Special to WPCNR. March 14, 2010: WPCNR has pieced together sketchy reports from callers to WPCNR, and has learned that North Street continues to be closed south of Ridgeway and northbound past White Plains High School with Con Edison crews.

Ridgeway is closed at Mamaroneck Avenue. Police are out in force directing traffic what there is at intersections where traffic signals are not functioning.

Observers report Soundview Avenue, Avondale and Smith Avenues in the Highlands were hard hit with giant trees impacting two large homes, one of which was vacant on Smith Avenue. A tree was observed lying atop the hood of a vehicle on Soundview. During the night trees could be heard crashing in the woods along the Greenway as 30 to 50 Mile per hour winds screamed through the city.

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From Con Edison Media Relations. March 14, 2010 8 A.M. EDT: Con Edison crews are working around the clock and against treacherous conditions to address downed wires and road closures as well as to restore power to customers affected by the powerful, slow-moving wind and rain storm that continues to pound the region.

In  the storm's wake: Powersaws were out humming as White Plainsians woke up to downed trees, debris everywhere. The Saturday-Sunday night storm was powerful enough to rip shutters nailed to the sides of homes. Photo by WPCNR>

The company will get mutual aid from utilities in several states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, starting today. The company also expects that it will be in a better position to assess and repair damage once the storm conditions become less severe. To date, the strong winds have made it unsafe in many instances for Con Edison workers to go up in bucket trucks, and felled trees have made many roads impassable.

Even with the efforts by Con Edison and the utilities providing mutual aid, the total restoration effort will continue through the week.

About 167,000 customers have been affected by the storm in the Con Edison service area in New York City and Westchester County.  Currently, 138,000 are without power.  Of that number, 72,000 are in Westchester County, 32,000 on Staten Island, and a total of 34,000 in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The company has restored power to about 29,000 customers in its service territory.

Fierce winds and heavy rain have driven trees into power lines and knocked out electricity.  Winds remain strong and further tree damage and outages are possible.
Con Edison has additional customer service representatives, electrical and construction crews, along with tree-clearing crews working around the clock to respond to customers and power outages that may occur.

Customers are urged to call Con Edison immediately to report any outages at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). Customers can also report power interruptions or service problems as well as view service restoration information online at www.conEd.com and on their cell phones and PDAs.  When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.

In the event of severe outages, primary distribution feeders are restored first, with the highest priority given to lines that supply the most customers out of service.  Next, the crews restore secondary facilities, such as transformers and secondary cables, again with highest priority given to lines supplying the most customers out of service.  Individual services, lines serving a single home, will be restored as crews become available.

Con Edison offers the following tips to prepare for a storm:

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them.  Treat all downed wires as if they are live.  Never attempt to move or touch them with any object.  Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or water.  Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately.  If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
• If your power goes out, turn off all lights and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored.  Leave at least one light switch in the on position to alert you when power has been restored.
• Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios or televisions are in working order. Use candles and oil lamps with care.  Also, make sure you have a supply of extra batteries.  Weather updates and news on restorations of electrical service can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
• Avoid opening your freezer to see if food is still frozen.  Every time you open the door, room-temperature air enters and speeds the thawing process.  Most fully loaded freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 36 to 48 hours; half-full freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours.

The company is maintaining close contact with the New York City Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm response as necessary.

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. March 14, 2010 UPDATED 8:30 A.M. E.D.T.: The storm with no name continues to raise havoc in Westchester County as  the number of Con Edison reported outages affecting 70,525  of the 346,452 Con Ed customer base as of 8 A.M.

In White Plains,  6,158 customers are without power with trees blocking driveways...and debris scattered through the streets.

Yonkers is hardest hit with 10,936 reporting no power. Greenburgh reports 8,585 outages, and New Rochelle, 7,399.

Though the powerful winds of the Saturday storm have subsided, the rain has not.  Light posts are down, branches and debris are on roads, and bear in mind that the 70,525 customers mean many more thousands in people are affected.

WPCNR has received no word from the county or the City of White Plains on conditions. Only Con Edison is supplying any information through their website. The true extent of the damage the storm continues to inflict will be visible in daylight. Motorists should exercise extreme caution. Tree roots are saturated and subject to uprooting as their moorings are made less firm by the wet earth.

WPCNR SATURDAY NIGHT. March 13, 2010: White Plains ran its St. Patrick’s Day Parade this noon despite the windy, stormy weather that pelted marchers and the high winds swirled through the county seat. Observers  midway through the parade said there sparse crowds of spectators watching the marchers from the sidewalks, but very large crowds in the restaurants and bars lining Mamaroneck Avenue. "They were packed, you couldn't get in." Mayor Adam Bradley attended the parade.

At  the Friendly Gathering at Good Counsel Saturday night, a crowd braved the stormy night,  despite power being out to over 4,000 White Plains residents. The annual gathering honored Lorraine Buonocunto, of the Ecumenical Food Pantry of White Plains.

The Friendly Gathering was highlighted by an appearance by White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley, his wife, and their two children who attended the festivities and were greeted by many well-wishers coming up to their table.

At Ebersole Rink the ice show was scheduled to go on at the roofed facility which is protected from the elements. WPCNR has learned Sunday morning the show was postponed late Saturday afternoon and will be "iced" and rescheduled to go on Sunday evening at 6:30 P.M.

WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. March 13,2010: Con Edison reports Westchester County, has over 51,000 customers who have lost power due to the high winds and driving rain storm that has been scouring the county for over 15 hours.

The amount of customers exceeds the 35,000 outages experienced by the county in the snowstorm of February 27 by 15,000 and the number is growing. Yonkers, Greenburgh, White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, and Mount Pleasant are very hard hit.

In White Plains, Peter Katz reports that vast banks of homes down Mamaroneck Avenue south of the downtown appear to have lost power. He also reports that the area of Parkview Court and Church Street are without power at this time. Con Edison reports 4,390 White Plains customers are experiencing power failure as of 9 P.M. and they hope to restore power to those White Plainsians by 11 P.M. tonight.

Katz tells WPCNR that Westchester County Airport is closed because of a power outage, and the airport reports winds of 25 knots, gusting to 45 knots, and it is raining in White Plains.

Katz said Con Edison crews appeared be assembling on Mamaroneck Avenue as of 9 P.M. to deal with the darkout.

Elsewhere around the county, outages have grown since nightfall. Con Edison Storm Center reports Yonkers has 8,069 without power; Rye City, 2,308; Port Chester, 172; Peekskill, 144; North Tarrytown, 312; North Castle, 1,692; New Rochelle, 6,484; Mount Vernon, 2,775; Mt. Pleasant, 2,591; Mamaroneck, 696; Larchmont, 1,048; Irvington, 1,194; Hastings, 280; Greenburgh, 6,830; Elmsford, 527; Eastchester,1,659;Dobbs Ferry, 245; Briarcliff, 504; Bronxville, 1,216; and Ardsley, 578.

To find out Con Edison's estimated time when they will have power restored go to the online Con Edison Storm Center at http://apps.coned.com/weboutageinfo/stormcenter/default.aspx

WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. March 13, 2010:  As night fell across the city, howling east winds of gale force sounding like a fast freight train, blew limbs off trees, sent power wires singing, opened garbage storage bins and shredded branches, even blew  nailed-down shutters off homes.

The close to the surface winds bent trees over as if they were palmtrees and have devasted Westchester communities with power outages and dangerous road conditions.

The outages are amazing: Con Edison Storm Center reports 1,101 customers powerless in White Plains;  1,803in Yonkers; 1,949 in Scarsdale; a staggering 4,329 without electricity in New Rochelle; 1,171 in North Castle (Chappaqua); 479 in Port Chester; 2,416 in Mount Vernon; 964 in Mt. Pleasant; 593 in Ardsley; 158 in Briarcliff; 959 in Bronxville; 119 in Dobbs Ferry; 1,588 in Harrison;  154 in Hastings; 534 in Irvington; 585 in Mamaroneck (where 10% of Con Ed customers are without power).

WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. Special to the CitizeNetReporter from Paula Piekos with WPCNR and Con Edison Sources. March 13, 2010:

As of 3:45 P.M. E.D.T. North Street (Route 127) was closed in BOTH DIRECTIONS due to a fallen tree on live wires. Utility vehicles were on the scene. Live wires are on the roadway. Motorists should avoid the area.

Police Department is very busy at this time, persons knowing of any other road closures in the city, please advise the CitizeNetReporter,914-997-1607

CON EDISON REPORTS 786 WHITE PLAINS CUSTOMERS ARE WITHOUT POWER IN THE CITY AS OF 4 P.M. DUE TO THE TROPICAL STORM WITH GALE FORCE WINDS CLOCKED IN THE 40 TO 50 MILE AN HOUR RANGE. GREENBURGH IS REPORTED BY CON EDISON TO HAVE 802 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER.

ACROSS WESTCHESTER COUNTY 5,048 CON EDISON CUSTOMERS ARE REPORTING POWER OUTAGES.

CON EDISON AS OF 4:07 P.M. IS ESTIMATING POWER WILL BE RESTORED BY 10 P.M. SATURDAY EVENING.

TREE FALLS ON NORTH STREET, FELLING LIVE WIRES CLOSING NORTH STREET IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AS OF 4 P.M.

LIVE WIRES SMOULDER ON STONE WALL AT RIDGEWAY AND NORTH STREET

WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey.  March 12, 2010: White Plains sales tax receipts continue to erode at a disastrous  cumulative pace which keeps compounding the city reservoir of red ink week by week.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today reportes Sales Tax Collections for the first 8 months of the White Plains 2009-10 fiscal year are 22% behind the 2008-2009 pace, $7.1 Million off what was collected last year through eight months.

If the present 7 to 8% rate of decline does not turn up dramatically,  City Sales Tax Receipts will lag $10 Million behind last year’s actual collections and possibly $11 Million short of forecast. The $11 Million sales tax gap alone would precipitate drastic budget cuts in 2010-11, or a property tax increase of 33%.

The February Sales Tax Receipts were down 7.3% from February 2009,  according to figures released to The CitizeNetReporter by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

This is the third consecutive month sales tax receipts have declined  in the White Plains city limits. It should be noted that a major snowstorm may have affected the February Presidents’ Day sales in White Plains. By contrast, Westchester County sales tax receipts the first two months of the county fiscal year is down just 3.6%.

WPCNR IN TRANSIT. By John F. Bailey. March 11, 2010: The backbone of the new Rockland-Westchester County mass transit system of the future -- the Bus Rapid Transit line -- is envisioned by officials as traveling east-west on Hamilton Avenue in downtown White Plains, the Council of Neighborhood Associations learned Tuesday night. For many it was the first they had heard of the plan to go through White Plains.

The route the DOT feels is the most efficient at this time is to dedicate two lanes for Bus Rapid Transit, on Hamilton Avenue, one eastbound, the other westbound, with dedicated buslines coursing from 119 East onto Hamilton and down North Broadway eastbound to Westchester Avenue, and a dedicated bus line westbound coming up North Broadway Westbound off Westchester Avenue, connecting with Hamilton Avenue out to Route 119. It was the first time the Hamlton solution had been presented to the general public.

2 Plans to access Hamilton. Via Main Street, or a Tunnel

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL March 11, 2010: On March 2, the City of White Plains filed a suit  in New York Supreme Court against the White Plains Police Benevolent Association (the police labor union) which asks the court to declare “null and void” the December 29,2008 Memorandum of Agreement between Mayor Joseph Delfino and the police putting in place the 12-hour work shifts for patrol personnel on the grounds that “the December 29, 2008 MOA was never approved by the Common Council.”

The suit filed also asks the court to direct the City and PBA “to restore nune pro tune all the terms and conditions of employment in effect prior to the implementation of the December 29 MOA,” : the previous 8-hour work schedule, vacation leave,personal leave, administrative worki schedule and court time provisions.

Richard Zuckerman of Lamb & Barnosky, the labor attorney for the city, is the city attorney on the matter. Harry Greenberg of  Greenberg Bruzichelli Greenberg is the counsel for the WPPBA.

The new city administration estimates the new work shifts have cost the city over  $100,000 in cash payments to police for compensatory time (a new option which previously paid in compensatory time off only)  earned by the new work rules in the first six months of the program this fiscal year. Previously the former Commissioner of Public Safety, Dr. Frank Straub, had touted the 12-hour shifts as having significantly cut overtime.

The lawsuit contends that Mayor Joseph Delfino and the union implemented the 12-hour shifts without approval of the Common Council making continuation of the 12-hour shifts up to the discretion of the Police Commissioner. Previously, the council did not contest that arrangement after they agreed to a 9-month trial of the program which came up for extension in October of 2009.

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. March 10,2010: Matthew Gallagher of the County Attorney Office advised WPCNR today that the former councilman Glen Hockley, who ran unsuccessfully as a write-in candidate against Adam Bradley for Mayor in the fall, after having been denied a position on the November ballot, filed answer papers to the County motion for dismissal of Mr. Hockley's suit alleging his civil rights were violated by the Board of Elections during the November election, among other matters.

Mr. Gallagher said the county has until April 5 to prepare its rebuttal to Mr. Hockley's papers, and said that after that date,  Judge Kathy Seibel might be expected to rule on the lawsuit.

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Ned McCormick, Westchester County Director of Communications. March 9, 2010: Faced with a projected county government deficit of at least $166 million next year – and more than double that by 2013 – County Executive Robert P. Astorino today outlined the short-term steps that his administration will implement immediately and the long-term measures, including possible layoffs of hundreds of employees, that must be considered to close the shortfall.

County Executive Rob Astorino at his Inauguration in January

            Since taking office Jan. 1, Astorino has been meeting with his department heads and budget experts to deal with the looming deficits. Today’s announcement is the outcome of that effort and includes $16 million in short-term operational savings that can be implemented this year without immediate layoffs.  He also detailed the options under consideration to reduce spending next year and beyond.